RECREATE marks an important appearance at the European Conference for Composite Materials for Academia and Industry (ECCM21) thanks to a number of significant participation in the conference programme testifying both scientific excellence of RECREATE and its potential for industry applications.
ECCM21 is one of the World’s leading scientific and industry conferences dedicated to experts on composite materials and innovation taking place in Nantes from 2nd to 5th July 2024.
A dedicated session co-chaired by RECREATE’s coordinator, professor Gianmarco Griffini, Politecnico di Milano, and professor Konstantinos Tserpes, University of Patras, titled “Reuse, remanufacturing and recycling of composites” featured 24 presentation with eight of them being presented by partners from the RECREATE Consortium. Furthermore, two posters were prepared by partners and presented at dedicated halls at the conference. All of the contributions by our partners are listed below featuring key messages of their authors.
Presentations
Christina Vogiantzi a young researcher of University of Patras (UPAT) presented a presentation titled water/ethanol-based solvolysis of CFRPs and mechanical characterization of the recovered fibers and the fiber/matrix interphase exposing the results achieved so far.
Mohhamad Jawad Berro, young researcher of Icam, presented the advancement recycling by reforming of composites made with a polyester matrix.
“Although well-established, conventional recycling methods present multiple issues such as loss of materials, loss of properties, and cost and safety issues. That is why we are developing an original recycling method that could efficiently produce intact composite pieces ready for reuse. The approach implies reshaping curved composite pieces from naval and wind energy sectors into flat technical boards for public transport and furniture. Thermomechanical tests are being carried out to set the necessary operating parameters of our process. For the time being, tested materials include a composite made with glass fibers and a polyester matrix. Under relevant conditions, we were able to reshape curved pieces and obtain completely flat ones. The steps to follow will involve further optimisation of flat shape retention.”
Marco Diani of the Mechanical department of Politecnico di Milano (POLIMI), presented two presentations: The approach to the Decision Support System for circular solutions in composites sector and Recycling of composites using High-Voltage Fragmentation.
Stefan Caba of EDAG, talked about the Design of Reusable Components for Composites Circular Economy.
Jason Govilas, a young researcher of Tampere University, presented the advancements of mechanical characterisation of chemically recycled carbon fibers through tensile and microbond testing.
Luca Gentilini of Cobat Compositi provided insights and results of mapping and assessment of complex EoL composite waste streams that can become stock for reuse.
Posters
Ines Sma, young researcher of Centre national de la recherche scientifique (CNRS), presented her work within the RECREATE initiative with a poster titled Inducing Damage by Laser Shock Plasma: Application for dismantling laminated composites for reuse. The poster won first place for the Best Poster Award at the ECCM21 conference.
Fabian Wunderle and Dominik Voigt, both young researchers of Invent, prepared a poster on the topic of development of design guidelines for adhesive bond lines in segmented wind rotor blades.
